The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) has proposed a new safe harbor option for group health plans to provide required disclosures electronically. Currently, many health plan notices are still delivered through paper mailings, which can be costly and administratively burdensome. While there is an existing safe harbor permitting employers to deliver ERISA notices electronically, the current safe harbor only applies to employees who are “wired at work” (meaning that they have regular access to the employer’s electronic information system as an integral part of their job duties), or to participants and beneficiaries who affirmatively consent to receiving disclosures electronically. The DOL adopted a more flexible “notice and access” safe harbor in 2020, but the 2020 safe harbor only applies to retirement plans. The new proposed safe harbor for group health plans largely mirrors the 2020 safe harbor, with a few important differences.
Under the proposed safe harbor, any document or… Read the complete article here...
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